How China Reinvented the BRI
April 3rd, 2026
Via Foreign Policy, a look at how Western tariffs accelerated the BRI’s transformation into a sophisticated extension of China’s industrial policy: Not long ago, Western policymakers were writing the obituary of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). That verdict is now dangerously obsolete. The stark reality of 2025 has shattered the narrative of a Chinese retreat. […]
Read more »China Focuses on Africa’s Strategic Trade Routes
January 7th, 2026
Via Reuters, a report on China’s renewed Africa focus on strategic trade routes: China’s FM to visit Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho Trip extends 36-year-old tradition of making first trip to Africa African states looking for investment over loans – analyst China’s top diplomat began his annual New Year tour of Africa on Wednesday, focusing […]
Read more »The Digital Silk Road in the Gulf: Navigating Risks Amid China-US Rivalry
July 16th, 2025
Via The Diplomat, commentary on how the Gulf region represents a convergence of regional instability and great power rivalry, with Chinese high-tech exports caught in the crossfire: China’s Digital Silk Road has emerged as a strategic avenue to circumvent mounting U.S.-led barriers to its high-tech development, offering an alternative model for digital globalization that emphasizes […]
Read more »China’s Gray-Zone Infrastructure Strategy on the Tibetan Plateau: Roads, Dams, and Digital Domination
June 8th, 2025
Via Center for Strategic and International Studies, a look at China’s gray-zone infrastructure strategy on the Tibetan Plateau: China’s use of critical infrastructure to control downstream water supply will threaten vital economic activities and life. China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will leverage rail and road networks to strengthen its positions near the Line of Actual […]
Read more »Beyond Geopolitics: The Domestic Drivers of China-Iran Cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative
May 23rd, 2025
Via The Diplomat, a look at how the alignment of domestic socioeconomic interests is a key driver for continued Sino-Iranian cooperation, despite U.S.-led sanctions: More than a decade after the announcement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its transformation of global supply chains and trade flows has garnered significant attention. Nevertheless, despite being identified as a crucial country […]
Read more »Colombia Moves to Join China’s Belt and Road
May 10th, 2025
Via France24, a look at Colombia’s move to join China’s Belt and Road: Colombia’s president on Tuesday said he intends to sign an accord to join Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative during an upcoming China trip, a move sure to damage already frayed relations with Washington. Leftist leader Gustavo Petro said he would sign a […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.